Apparatus for applying covers to books



March 1961 A. L. SAUNDERS 2,974,332

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING COVERS TO BOOKS Filed Nov. 8, 1957 INVENTOR. 44BEeT 4, s4a/vazes,

ATTOB/VE'YS.

Unitgd- 8 Patent APPARATUS FOR APPLYING COVERS TO BOOKS Albert L.Saunders, 155 Dryden Drive, San Antonio, Tex.

Filed Nov. 8, 1957, Ser. No. 695,451

1 Claim. (Cl. 11-4) This invention relates to devices tor coveringbooks, and more particularly to an improved device for supporting a'bookto be covered and for facilitating the forming of the cover to be placedthereon.

A main object of the invention is to provide a novel and improvedapparatus for forming a book cover and for supporting a book while thecover is fitted thereto, the apparatus being simple in construction,being easy to use, and enabling a book to be covered with a minimumamount of effort and in a relatively short time.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved apparatusfor supporting a book while a cover is formed and applied thereto, theapparatus involving inexpensive components, being foldable to a compactsize for transportation or storage, and enabling a book to be fittedwith a cover in a very short period of time and with a considerablylesser amount of effort than is required in the ordinary method offorming a book cover by the use of scissors.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom the following description and claims, and from the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective'view showing an apparatus according to thepresent invention and illustrating the manner in which the apparatus isemployed to cover a book, the book being shown in dotted view.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of a template member employed in conjunctionwith the apparatus of Figure 1 for forming the book cover.

Figure 3 is an elevational view of the template of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an end view of the template of Figures 2 and 3.

Figure 5 is an enlarged vertical cross sectional View taken on the line5-5 of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a horizontal cross sectional view taken on line 66 of Figure5.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to Figure 1, 11generally designates a device for supporting a book to be covered on asheet of paper or similar covering material, such as the sheet 12 shownin Figure l, for shaping the sheet to define a book cover. The device 11comprises a pair of rigid plate members 13, 13 of any suitablerelatively thin rigid sheet material, such as plywood, or the like, saidplate members being rectangular in shape and substantially identical insize. Designated at 14, 14 are respective rigid blade-like strips ofmetal which are secured to the adjacent margins of the plate members 13,13, said margins being suitably recessed to receive the strips and tosupport the strips so that their marginal portions project inwardly overthe edges of the members 13, 13, as is clearly shown in Figure 5. Thestrips 14 may be fastened to the platelike members 13, 13 in anysuitable manner, as by the use of a plurality of spaced rivets 15passing through the strips 14 and the subjacent marginal portions of themembers 13.

force on an object wedged between the strips 14, 14.

Thus, a sheet of paper 12 may be placed on the platelike members 13, 13,in the manner shown in Figure 1, and a (book, shown in dotted view at 20maybe disposed with its covers 21, 21 open and with its back lo catedbetween the strips 14, 14, the back of the book and the portion of thepaper 12 subjacent thereto being depressed below the plane of the strips14, 14 sothat the book back and the portion of the paper sheet 12engaged therewith are clamped between the strips 14, 14 by the action ofthe connecting coiled springs 16, 16,

Designated at 22 is a spring clamping member formed with the respectiveparallel arms 23, 23 and the connecting spring loops 24, as shown inFigure 1. The lower ends of the arms 23, 23 are formed with theoutwardly extending terminal portions 25, 25 which terminate in theright angled, horizontally extending end lugs 26, 26. As shown in Figurel, the spring clamping member 22 is used to engage the leaves of thebook to hold same pressed together while the covers 21, 21 of the bookare supported over the respective plate-like members 13, 13 in overlyingrelationship to the plate or sheet 12..

Designated at 27 is a rigid template member of any suitable material,such as metal, hard plastic, or other suit-able material, said member 27being formed with the beveled longitudinal edge 28 and with the inclinedbeveled end edges 29, 29, the edges 28 and 29 defining cutting blades,as will be presently explained.

In using the apparatus, the book is placed over the sheet of paper 12 inthe position illustrated in Figure 1 with the book back and the portionof the paper sheet adjacent thereto clamped between the blade-likestrips 14, 1'4. The cutting template 27 is then positioned adjacent theedges of the covers 21, 21 to serve as guides in tearing the paper sheetto define flaps to be folded over the margins of the book covers 21, 21in forming the book cover. The member 27 thus serves as a means forsuitably shaping the paper sheet 12 to define the required flaps forcovering the cover boards 21, 21 of the book. The inclined ends 29, 29of the template are suitably shaped so that the required flaps may beformed at their ends to suitably overlie the corners of the book coverelements 21, 21.

As will be understood, the spring clamp member 22 bers 13 for storingthe template 27 when the apparatus is not in use. Similarly, theopposite plate-like member 13 is formed with a pair of apertures 32, 32for receiving the lug elements 26, 26 of the spring clamp 22, forstoring said spring clamp when the apparatus is not being used. With thetemplate 27 and the spring clamp 22 7 engaged respectively with theapertures 31, 3 1 and 32, 32, the plate-like members 13, 13 may befolded substantially parallel to each other and suitably secured infolded positions, for example, by means of a suitable fastening band,whereby the apparatus assumes a relatively compact size for easystorage.

As above explained, the plate-like members 13, 13 may be formed of anysuitable rigid material, for example, plywood, Masonite, or the like.

While a specific embodiment of an improved apparatus for use in forminga book cover and for supporting a book while being covered has beendisclosed in the foregoing description, it will be understood thatvarious modifications within the spirit of the invention may occur tothose skilled in the art. Therefore, it is intended that no limitationsbe placed on the invention except as defined by the scope of theappended claim.

What is claimed is:

A device for supporting a book to be covered on a horizontal sheet ofcovering material for shaping the sheet to define a book covercomprising a pair of sideby-side horizontal, coplanar rigid platemembers movable relative to each other, respective rigid blade-likestrips secured to the adjacent margins of the plate members andprojecting towards each other beyond the edges of the plate members,said plate members being adapted to support the sheet of coveringmaterial with an open book vertically disposed thereon and to receivethe book back therebetween with the covering material and book backdepressed below said blade-like strips, and respective coiled springsyieldably connecting the adjacent edges of said plate members at theirrespective opposite end portions and being formed and arranged to urgethe plate members horizontally inwardly towards each other and to causesaid blade-like strip to exert clamping force horizontally and inwardlyon the book back and the depressed portion of the covering materiallocated between said blade-like strips.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

